yellow tiles along the wall of Casa Hoyos
Photography by Diego Padilla.

October 26, 2023

Words: Jen Renzi

5 Refreshed Historic Properties That Honor Tradition

Historic properties in vacation spots from Portugal to Italy get a new lease on life with redesigns that honor tradition—and subvert it, too.

Casa Hoyos by AG Studio

Site: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Keys: 16

A meticulously restored colonial-era villa was reinvented as a property that celebrates the best of Mexican design and regional artisanal crafts. Interior highlights include sunshine-bright glazed ceramics, mirror-tiled planters, woven tapestries, crisp black steelwork, and contours galore. Best seat in the house to take in the colorful modernist surrounds: the lounge’s cocooning Calaca armchairs by Comite de Proyectos.

  • yellow tiles along the wall of Casa Hoyos
    Photography by Diego Padilla.
  • arched doors open to the balcony at this renovated hotel
    Photography by Diego Padilla.
  • a tapestry on the wall of a guest bedroom at a Mexican hotel
    Photography by Diego Padilla.
  • a circular mirror displays a guest bed in this hotel
    Photography by Diego Padilla.
  • a round tub in a guest bathroom at Casa Hoyos
    Photography by Diego Padilla.

Sophia Hotel by Balbek Bureau

Site: Kyiv, Ukraine
Keys: 39

A century’s worth of paint layers stripped from the 1881 edifice revealed elegant yellow brickwork and period architectural details—characteristics the minimalist-modern interior scheme quietly harmonizes with via restrained neutral tones (offset with occasional pops of red), warm timber and brass accents, and contemporary Ukrainian artworks.

  • a curving sofa in the lobby of the Sophia Hotel in Kyiv
    Photography by Andriy Bezuglov.
  • a guest suite in the Sophia Hotel
    Photography by Andriy Bezuglov.
  • red floor pillows sit against a wall in a guest room at this Kyiv hotel
    Photography by Andriy Bezuglov.
  • the exterior of the Sophia Hotel by Balbek Bureau
    Photography by Borys Dorogov.

Habita79 by Giuliano Dell’uva; Gianluca Marangi

Site: Pompeii, Italy
Keys: 79

Built in the 1940’s for travelers trekking to the archeological site, this newly revamped MGallery hotel captures Pompeii’s energy of discovery while reinterpreting its ahead-of-its-time interior architecture; note the iron-base concrete columns, stucco wall panels (channeling grooves found on Pompeiian houses), and slabs of the same marble used to sculpt Roman fountains. More avant-garde are the Gio Ponti chairs, Luciano Romano photographs, and reproductions of 18th-century Giustiniani vases that likewise quote antiquity.

  • blue sofas in a sitting area of a guest room at a hotel
    Photography by Nathalie Krag/Living Inside.
  • a statue sits at the top of the stairs in an Italian hotel
    Photography by Nathalie Krag/Living Inside.
  • large columns flank the reception desk at this Pompeii hotel
    Photography by Nathalie Krag/Living Inside.
  • an arched recessed filled with ceramic vases
    Photography by Nathalie Krag/Living Inside.
  • a white hallway with red doors in an Italian hotel
    Photography by Nathalie Krag/Living Inside.

The Georgian by BLVD Hospitality; Fettle

Site: Santa Monica, California
Keys: 84

And, scene: After a sensitive renovation, a storied coastal property from 1933 marries Old Hollywood charm, global élan, and SoCal cool via such cinematic mise-en-scène as custom art deco chandeliers, original decorative reliefs, exaggerated furniture profiles, and exuberant stone flooring. Did we mention the transporting Pacific Ocean views?

  • a curved headboard in a guest room at the Georgian
    Photography by Douglas Friedman.
  • an orange sofa sits behind a marble coffee table at a L.A. hotel
    Photography by Douglas Friedman.
  • inside the Art Deco lobby of the Georgian Hotel
    Photography by Douglas Friedman.
  • the Art Deco exterior of the Georgian Hotel
    Photography by Douglas Friedman.

The Largo by Space Copenhagen

Site: Porto, Portugal
Keys: 18

Following a three-year restoration by architect Frederico Valsassina, five interconnected structures dating from the 15th through 19th centuries received a sensitive but thorough interior overhaul—one that maintained existing features—during its conversion into a hotel for Danish hospitality group Annassurra. Against the subdued tones of this stripped-back setting, replete with conserved elements like a five story–deep courtyard flanked by stone walls, Space Copenhagen juxtaposed stylized modern interpretations of Renaissance-era gestures including ceiling ornamentation and voluptuous headboards.

  • the balcony of a hotel in Portugal
    Photography by Joachim Wichmann.
  • stone walls surround an outdoor seating area at a Portugal hotel
    Photography by Joachim Wichmann.
  • a spiral staircase in a Portugese hotel
    Photography by Joachim Wichmann.
  • Renaissance colors and textures are found in this hotel guest room
    Photography by Joachim Wichmann.
  • a cozy fireplace area in a Portugal hotel
    Photography by Joachim Wichmann.

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